Standing on Opposite Shores
by Kirynism
Summary: Chihiro’s moved on with her life after convincing herself that the Spirit World was only a dream. But when the Kohaku river is restored near her college, will she finally accept that her strange dreams are really a reality that she's forgotten?
1. Chapter 1: Grown Up

Author's Note: Hello everyone, here's my first 'Spirited Away' fanfiction ever! I hope you like it. By the way, Chihiro and Haku forever! (Can you tell I'm a fangirl?)

Edit (4/28/08): The first chapter has been edited and revamped.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Hayao Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away'.

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**Standing on Opposite Shores**

**Chapter One: Grown Up**

"_Now keep going, and don't look back." _

_Chihiro nodded and ran, not looking back. She felt his grip on her hand loosen and then release as she ran down the steps. When she saw her parents standing there . . . was it safe to look back? Was he still watching her? Would she . . . ever get to see him again? . . ._

_Don't look back._

_She wanted to . . . _

_Don't look back._

_. . . but she didn't._

"Chihiro."

_She was standing on the shore of a vast ocean . . . and far, far away in the distance she could see the bright lights of a town, smell the delicious food cooking miles and miles away in a place she knew . . . and didn't know._

"Chihiro!"

"_Chihiro." Her dark brown eyes met a pair of sea green ones._

"_Ko . . . haku . . ."_

"CHIHIRO WAKE UP ALREADY!"

Chihiro opened an eye groggily and looked up at her apartment roommate, a pretty college student entering her third year of environmental studies. The sun shone behind the other girl, making her dark eyes and long dark hair stand out against the summery turquoise of their apartment walls.

Turquoise . . . like the waters of a river . . .

'Another dream,' she thought to herself as the sun got into her eyes. Groaning, Chihiro pulled her blanket over her head. "Shorin, I'm tired, leave me alone."

"Do you know what time it is Chihiro?" When she didn't reply, Shorin grabbed Chihiro's blankets and yanked at them, pulling to no avail. "It's nine-thirty you idiot, you're going to miss your graduation ceremony-"

"WHAT!" Instantly Chihiro let go of her blanket, and fell out of her bed with an ungraceful thump in her haste to get ready. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Chihiro demanded as she ran into the bathroom with her uniform in hand, shutting the door behind her with a loud bang.

"I tried, but someone seems to sleep like a lump these days!"

"Be quiet, at least I don't snore," Chihiro retorted though her toothpaste.

"Oh, and how do you know that? You're always sleeping by the time I get home," Shorin called through the closed bathroom door as she placed the blanket back onto the bed and smoothed out the wrinkles.

"Because I do! Hey, can you hand me my brush?" The door opened and Shorin tossed Chihiro a large paddle hairbrush. "Thanks." Chihiro peered at herself in the mirror as she pulled her now waist-length, thick brown hair up into a ponytail with a shiny hair tie.

Shorin watched from behind her, sitting on Chihiro's made bed and braiding her hair over her shoulder idly. As soon as Chihiro finished, she turned to look at Shorin questioningly. "You look fine, don't worry." Shorin grabbed a plastic bag and passed it to Chihiro. "C'mon, we're going to be late. Breakfast's in the bag."

"Wow, I didn't think of that . . . Thanks again Shorin," Chihiro said. She gave a giggle and then added, "I don't know what I would forget without you."

Shorin gave a small smirk as she locked the apartment door and headed towards the elevators. "A whole heck of a lot, that's for sure."

--

". . . and on behalf of all the teachers, I would like to say congratulations to the graduating class!" Chihiro sighed, and got up with the rest of her class as they headed towards to the doors leading out of the auditorium at the sound of applause. In her right hand she clutched her diploma, her face blank as she continued to day dream.

_In her hand she held an herbal cake, medicine from the river god. She bit off a piece as she managed to ply a white dragon's jaws open, took the medicine out of her mouth, struggling to place it into the dragon's. _

"We did it!" squealed a happy, high-pitched voice as they walked down the corridor to their class. A cute, fawn-haired girl ran up to Chihiro, her eyes shining happily. "Can you believe we finally graduated, Chihiro?"

"Hardly, Minako," Chihiro laughed. "I didn't think I would make it."

"Oh please," Minako said. "Chihiro, you were the second best student in our year! Your college entrance exam scores were really high too-"

"Shhh!" Chihiro covered her friend's mouth quickly as people turned to look in their direction. "Minako, don't say that kind of stuff out loud . . ."

"It's not like no one knows about that!" Despite what Minako said, she was whispering too. "Your exam scores were even higher than the valedictorian's, Chihiro. So why are you going to _that_ school when you could be heading to Tokyo University or some other school like that?"

"Because it's where I can get the best classes for my field," replied Chihiro, grabbing her school bag from her desk while stuffing her diploma into it. 'Not my desk anymore though,' Chihiro thought, bidding goodbye to its familiar surface mentally. "Besides, I don't like being in cities, you know that. Not enough green."

Minako snickered as they walked out into the hallway and down the stairs. "You nature girl. Why are you so connected to those types of places anyway?"

"It just feels right to be around plants-ouch!" Her bag fell to the floor with a loudly _clunk, _next to a stray diploma that Chihiro knew didn't belong to her. She looked up, then gave a swift, apologetic bow. "Oh! I'm sorry; I wasn't watching where I was going!" She instantly bent down to pick up the young man's diploma.

"It's okay- Chi- Chihiro-san!" Chihiro looked up into the flushed face of one of their class president and valedictorian, Murata Takeshi. She blinked and handed him his diploma as Minako giggled quietly behind her. Chihiro watched as he fumbled to take the diploma from her and stutter, "Th-thanks."

"It's the least I could do to apologize for bumping into you, Murata-san; I'm such a klutz."

"No no, not a klutz, never a klutz," he mumbled back. Minako just managed to suppress her giggles when Chihiro shot her a 'don't-you-dare' look over her shoulder before focusing on Murata again.

"Hm. Well, I'm still sorry," Chihiro said, bowing one last time before she straightened up and pulled Minako past him quickly. "See you later Mura-"

"Chihiro-san, wait please!" Chihiro stopped abruptly. Minako sped up and ran out the door.

'Traitor,' Chihiro thought at Minako's retreating back as she turned around to face him. "Yes, Murata-san?"

"P-please, just call me 'Takeshi-san', if you like."

"O-okay," Chihiro said, smiling slightly and only with the least bit of hesitation. "Takeshi-san."

Takeshi looked pleased, a sweet smile spreading over his face before it fell and he cleared his throat. He looked at her seriously, and Chihiro mentally flinched. She had a good idea of what was coming next. "I- I wanted to say that . . . well, I know now we're going to be going to separate colleges and all . . . but, Chihiro, I really like you." Chihiro could feel the heat rush up to her face a little. Even though she didn't particularly want to feel flattered, she did. "You're smart and really pretty- and you're so nice to everyone. . . would you go out with me for lunch or something before I go to Tokyo?"

Chihiro looked down at the floor for a moment, unsure of what to say- she didn't want to be mean to him- and focused on the white and sea-green tiles beneath her feet, trying to come up with an answer.

_Sea green_ . . .

Instantly looking back up, Chihiro met Takeshi's earnest gaze with her own determined one. "I'm very flattered, Takeshi-san, but I don't like you- not in that way, at least. But thank you, nonetheless, for the kind compliments." She smiled, and continued, "Let's keep in touch though, okay?"

Takeshi looked sad for a moment, before smiling softly at her. "Of course we'll keep in touch. And I understand." He hesitated for a moment. "If you don't mind me asking, though- is there . . . someone else?"

Chihiro's eyes widened for a second. Was there someone else? No. No there wasn't . . . then why had she turned him down? Somehow, she just couldn't understand it herself. "No," replied Chihiro slowly, carefully. "Not yet. I think I'm just not ready to enter a relationship."

"I see." There was an awkward silence before he said with a smile, "Well, Chihiro-san. I guess I'll be seeing around. Call me too, if you're ever in Tokyo, okay?"

She smiled, her eyes softening. "I will, Takeshi-san. Thank you." With that she turned her back to him and walked out to meet Minako at the front gate.

"So . . ." Minako giggled, drawling the word out and waiting expectantly for some juicy details.

"Nothing."

"What?" Minako cried, eyes widened in amazement. "You turned the MurataTakeshi down? How could you! Chihiro, you heartbreaker! Takeshi-san was the fourth one this year to confess his feelings to you! Of all the boys who- I thought- How-could you?"

Chihiro let Minako sputter for a few moments before she decided to stop her friend from spazing out completely on her. "I couldn't, Minako. I just couldn't. I'm really not ready for that sort of thing yet –"

"Unless you have someone else!" Minako cut in quickly, before her eyes widened at Chirhiro. "You haven't been keeping anything from me, have you Chihiro? Your best friend?"

"Minakoooo . . ." Chihiro laughed as Minako's cheeks puffed in exasperation. "Honestly, no! There's no one, really –"

A third voice quickly interrupted. "Or at least not yet, right?"

"Shorin-onee-chan!" Minako squeaked happily. Chihiro knew that Minako looked up to the older student a lot. After all, Shorin was very pretty, smart, and was always kind to Minako. Chihiro tuned out of their conversation for a moment, staring up at the cherry trees, the petals swirling around her. They were white in the bright spring sunlight. She caught one in her hand; opening her palm to look at it.

_A flurry of white scales rose into the air and she began to fall, her eyes wide but unafraid as she fell with the person most dear to her . . ._

"_You did it Chihiro! My name is . . ."_

Chihiro blinked and released the petal into the wind.

"_Kohaku."_

"Chihiro, come on!" Shorin grinned and threw her arm over the younger girl's shoulders. "Let's go celebrate before I take you home! The three of us!" Shorin winked at Minako, who looked thrilled to be spending time with her sempai. "My treat!"

"Uh . . ." Chihiro blinked and let go of the last strains of her unusual daydream. Shorin and Minako stared at her expectantly. "That sounds great!"

Minako grinned widely. "Alright!"

Shorin smiled but kept her worried eyes on Chihiro. Chihiro grinned to let the older girl know she was okay and then linked her arms with Minako and then Shorin, leading them down the street to Shorin's car with a happy, tinkling laugh.

"Onwards!"

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A/N: I hope you liked it! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2: Just A Dream

Author's Note: Thank you to all my reviewers, you're all wonderful and I appreciate your feedback!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hayao Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away'.

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**Standing on Opposite Shores**

**Chapter Two: Just a Dream**

"Oh, Chihiro!" Chihiro blushed in embarrassment as her father enveloped her in a large bear hug. Her mother was right behind him, pulling out her camera. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Shorin and Minako grinning at her stiff form as she pathetically attempted to calm her overly reactive father. This only served for her to be crushed more tightly in his embrace.

"Wahh! Outou-san!" Her face went red. "Can't-can't breathe!"

"My little Chihiro is all grown up and is going to college!"

"Outou-saaaaan," Chihiro whined, feeling like a little kid again. Shorin and Mianko let out guffaws. "You're embarrassing me!"

"Honey, let her go, I want to take a picture of her with her diploma!" Mr. Ogino reluctantly released her, and Chihiro smiled hastily and held up her diploma in its tube-case, wishing that this humiliation could just be over with already. The camera light flashed and Chihiro saw spots.

_A lantern carried by an odd- looking walking stick provided light as she and her companions were walked through the dark marshlands . . ._

"Okaa-saaan," Chihiro whined when her mother insisted she take out her diploma from her case and take a picture showing it as well.

"Chihiro, please, just do it! It's not everyday when you graduate from high school."

"Yeah Chihiro!" piped Minako, grinning devilishly. Chihiro groaned in her head and made a mental note to herself that should Minako ever be in her situation, Chihiro should laugh her head off at her friend. She pulled out her diploma and looked at the camera, planting a half-smile on her face.

"Aw, give us a real smile Chihiro," her father said.

"He's right, you know." Shorin walked up behind her friend and pulled her mouth into a wide, wide smile using her fingers.

"Sho-win!" Chihiro said through the smile, as menacingly as she could, which wasn't much.

"Well, you don't want to look like a dud in your picture! It's probably the one that will go on the walls." She gestured Minako over and both girls flanked Chihiro. "Here, we'll take the picture with you." Minako took one end of the diploma and Shorin took the other, holding the diploma in front of them and Chihiro, and the three girls smiled as Chihiro's mom took the photograph.

_The lantern-carrying stick stopped before a tidy-looking farmhouse, warmth and light seeping out of its windows and through the cracks in the front door, beckoning her to enter._

Chihiro blinked, glancing at her parents blankly as she struggled to hold onto the image in vain.

"That's a nice one," Chihiro's mother said, nodding. "Well, Chihiro, are you going to finish packing up?"

"Y-yeah," Chihiro responded slowly as she regained her senses, "only some of my clothes are left." Carefully, she took her diploma from Shorin and Minako, and rolled it up once more.

"All right, you go do that. Oh, and before you leave your father and I would like to give you something. . ."

"Give me something?" Chihiro was fully back to reality, and she studied her parents suspiciously.

"Yes, well." Her mother smiled and traded a quick, secretive glance with her father. "Just something small, as a graduation gift." Chihiro's gaze flicked from Mrs. Ogino to Mr. Ogino and back again, still suspicious.

"What did you-"

"Oh, just go and pack already!" Minako and Shorin butted in, pulling her up the stairs to her room. Chihiro huffed and allowed herself to be pulled up the stairs by the other two, and into her small, neat room. Once they'd let her go, Chihiro went straight to the small pile of clothes left on her bed, and began to sort through them.

Minako plopped onto Chihiro's bedspread, while Shorin began to help Chirhiro fold the clothes as she pulled them from the pile. As Minako continued to tell Shorin the details of their graduation, Chihiro went to the corner of her room, where an empty blue suitcase was propped up against the wall. Pulling it to the center of the room, Chihiro laid it down and started to throw the folded clothes into the suitcase. Minako stopped speaking, and watched her friend for a moment before looking around Chihiro's room.

"Your room looks so empty, Chihiro."

"Tell me about it, but I'm sure yours will be the same soon," Chihiro laughed as she inspected a pair of jeans that Shorin passed to her. "Almost everything's at our apartment already –"

"_My_ apartment, you mean." Shorin shot Chihiro a saucy grin. "You haven't started paying the rent just yet, Chihiro."

"I've got a job, you know!" Chihiro reminded Shorin, sticking her tongue out at the older girl. "I'll be contributing to the rent!"

Shorin used her fingers to pull the corners of Chihiro's mouth out once more. "You owe me for this past month and a half, you doofus!"

"Dwoofuss?" Chihiro grabbed and pulled on Shorin's long dark hair as Minako began to laugh loudly at the sight they made. "Wou da dwoofuss!"

"Ow! What was that incomprehensible gibberish you spewed out? Ow!"

"Wou 'erd mwee!" Minako was now rolling on the bed, laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes. "An' wature lafin' at, Meenago?" Minako only laughed harder.

"Kami . . . sama!" She said, gasping. "You guys are like sisters- it's so funny!"

"Us? Sisters? Me related to this thing-" Shorin managed to get out before Chihiro tugged hard on her hair. "Ow! Let go already, you're such a doofus!"

"I'm nwo dwoofuss!"

"Okay, okay, not a doofus!" At this Chihiro let go of Shorin's hair and Shorin let go of Chihiro's cheeks. Shorin growled slightly, looking relieved that Chihiro had finally let go of her hair. "Jeez, I really hope you didn't pull any of my hair out." She inspected her mane, fingering it to make sure Chihiro hadn't pulled out any of the long, richly colored, silky strands.

Chihiro looked up at Shorin incredulously, rubbing her cheeks in attempt to get the feeling back into them. "Owwie . . ."

"You know, I take it back," Shorin said, crossing her arms after she was satisfied with her findings. But then she smiled smugly and said, "You're not a doofus, but you're such a dope!" Chihiro's eyes widened for a brief second before she grabbed onto Shorin's hair again, intending to tug viciously at it once more.

"_You're such a dope!" _

Chihiro suddenly stopped, and her grip on Shorin's hair slackened. She knew that she had heard that before, somewhere.

"_Haven't you ever worked a day in your life?"_

She looked up at Shorin, somewhat dazed. In the background, she vaguely heard Minako's laughter die down, and Shorin call her name. "Chihiro? You okay?"

'What . . . is this?' There were sudden flashes of white and sea-green, and soon, voices and images began to assault her. But one stood out above all the rest. . .

_Their view overlooked a town, brightly lit with lanterns against the blackness, far below. Beyond that was a sea of fresh water, waves lapping against the cliff, it's soft, wind-like shushing sounds_ _echoing through her soul, comforting, reminding her of-_

"_You okay?. . ."_

_Something tasted horrible in her mouth. She gave a little wail. "Hm? What's wrong?" a voice next to her asked._

A dream. It was only a dream! 'It couldn't have happened, _no no no NO_- it was just a dream! _All of it a dream!_' Chihiro's head began to hurt, and she squeezed her eyes close, willing the voices and images inside her head to leave her alone.

"_You better come back, you hear me?" _

"Chihiro?" Shorin's voice called from far away, so much like this other voice in her head ...

"_It's just a dream!" Chihiro cried out- _

"It's just a dream!" Chihiro cried out, falling into an enveloping darkness. But the strong, feminine voice wouldn't go away.

"_Sen! I'm sorry I called you a dope, before! I take it back!"_

_And then she was falling through the night sky, and a different voice called out to her._

"_Chihiro."_

Chihiro knew that voice.

_A tunnel of light opened up to her, and she entered another world._

"CHIHIRO!"

Chihiro's eyes snapped open and she gasped. Shorin and Minako suddenly came into focus as the hovered close to her. "W- wha- what happened?"

"You pulled my hair, then- y-you fell over!" Shorin was on her knees, smoothing Chihiro's hair away from her sweat-covered brow. "You had us worried for a moment there!" Chihiro gripped her friend's hand and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, stopping Shorin's comforting actions. Her heart hammered in chest furiously, and she struggled to calm her breathing. Shorin gripped Chihiro's hand in return as the younger woman's vision started to become fuzzy again_. 'What's happening- I can't- why can't I breathe?-_'

"'Orin ..." Chihiro managed to mutter before the air pushed in on her and the world became a dizzying array of colors. Her body seized up and she began to shake, and the pain and numbness washed over her-

"Oh shit!"

"Chihiro!" Minako's voice only vaguely reached Chihiro's ears. Everything blurred, then went black, and Chihiro knew no more.

--

Shorin tensed when she felt Chihiro's body begin to shake in her arms. Behind her, Minako was screaming Chihiro's name frantically, evidently panicking as Chihiro was quickly losing consciousness.

'Oh Kami-sama, Chihiro, you can't- not now- not when _he's not here_!' Shorin swallowed- this was not her area of expertise but she _had to try. _Breathing deeply, trying to calm herself best she could, Shorin looked over her shoulder sharply at poor Minako, who seemed as if she were about to collapse herself. "Go get Chihiro's parents! Call an ambulance!" Shorin barked at the younger girl, and Minako squeaked loudly before turning on her heel and running out the door, screaming for Chihiro's family.

Chihiro's shaking escalated, and Shorin held onto the younger girl more tightly, gripping her, trying to concentrate, trying to _heal _and _preserve_ and _calm_ . . .

_Outside, the wind rustled and the leaves shook._

Chihiro stopped shaking. Shorin grit her teeth, and focused, focused, _focused_. . .

_And there was Chihiro's essence before her, translucent spirit drifting away from her body slowly, as if she were being carried by a current, completely unaware of where she was.. ._

Shorin, her own hands glowing the deep emerald of summer grass, reached over and grabbed onto Chihiro's spirit hand and–

_Tugged Chihiro back towards her body. Hard._

'_You need to come back, you dope. It's not your time.'_

--

Minako raced back up the stairs, literally on the heels of Mr.Ogino. She had barely been able to get out a comprehensible explanation before Chihiro's parents had burst into action, Chihiro's mother racing for the phone as her husband ran straight for the stairs faster than Minako had ever though he could run.

She stopped at Chihiro's room, out of breath and clinging to the doorframe, peering in. Shorin was now sitting slumped back against the wall, Chihiro's father crushing his daughter to him as he checked Chihiro's pulse.

"Her-her shaking stopped, sir," Shorin whispered, sounding relieved and tired. "It passed, and she's alive- her heartbeat's there but weak."

Chihiro's father looked like he was about to cry, relieved. Minako, on unsteady legs, entered the room, still touching the wall for support.

"Sh-Shorin?" she asked, her voice weak and raw.

Shorin looked up at Minako, and Minako immediately thought that she had never seen Shorin appear so _exhausted_. Certainly, there were times when the older woman had looked tired, as if she hadn't gotten enough sleep— but that was expected of a university student. This was the first time Shorin looked, truly, deeply _worn_.

"Shorin?" Minako ventured again. "How- what happened?"

"I think," Shorin started slowly, "she had a seizure."

Minako sunk down onto her best friend's bedroom floor, and turned her head slowly towards the beautiful girl she had known since elementary school, still cradled in her father's arms, and still unconscious. Chihiro's face looked surprisingly peaceful. Outside, Minako could vaguely recognize the sound of the ambulance sirens rushing down the quiet street.

"Chihiro. . ."

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A/N: I hope you like where this story is going, everyone. Please review.


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